Fire Service Traditions

To better understand the background of the contrasting views, we must look at how the fire service has developed around

In the Fire service following instructions is of utmost importance. Not only is your life at risk if you fail to follow instructions, but you are also putting your fellow firefighters lives at risk.  However, not all instructions given are life threatening but,  are there to keep order and uniformity. The fire service is a paramilitary career meaning that it has a very strict standard on how things are done.  When you are given a specific instructions, it is important to truly understand what your task is. This includes everything from your job at a structure fire to knowing what your morning chore will be. This is in order to properly due your job and, to ensure that no repeats of that same task are done. Going back to the point of you fellow

This initiative emphasizes the importance of individuals holding themselves accountable for their own health, wellness, and safety. Additionally, this message needs to be derived and set forth by the administration of the department who should equally demonstrate the same behavior. A Fire Chief who establishes such expectations are the first in line to demonstrate their own accountability standards through their physical appearance and visible measures. For example, maintaining a healthy image resembling one of physically fit, and maintain and advocate healthy dietary eating habits both on and off the job. RMFD’s current Fire Chief emulates these standards. However, the Assistant Fire Chief and one of the Battalion Chiefs fall short, detouring the unity and strength behind the accountability maintaining a positive image.

This paper explores the different aspects in living a firefighter’s life. The topics that will be covered are the various types of technology when being a fireman, the different tactics you see on a day to day basis, the physical abilities one must be capable of, and the types of equipment used. The technology used today to help fight fires is extremely progressed and different than it was even just ten years ago. If it were not for these new inventions, communication would not be as easy and complex for any fire station. Firemen face different obstacles every day and have to be ready to jump right in with whatever the circumstance may be. Tactics such as

There are many areas in the fire service where potential lawsuits and liability can arise; some of these areas include, but are most definitely not limited to negligence, hazing, and not following the fire department’s SOPs/SOGs. As our society has changed, so has its expectations of those in emergency services—while many in the community may think of firefighters as the pinnacle of what an upstanding citizen must look like, there are countless moral and ethical pitfalls that firefighters can fall prey to and diminish the reputation of the fire service.

According the agency of the Department of Homeland Security states that motor vehicles crashes are the leading cause of death for an on-line duty fireman. Other significant causes of death are: caught/trapped (10%), fall (5%), collapse (3%), and other (7%). Intentions of firefighters are to make the community safe as possible, but we the people need to think twice before we do anything else when dealing with fire. The other things that it 's a national problem for firefighters is not wearing their seat belts when driving out to an emergency. They are so focused on saving our lives when first it 's supposed to be the opposite, their safety is first, but firemen put their lives at risk.

Grey’s Anatomy, Chicago Fire, my life is nothing like that. Of course there are exhilarating moments on the scene of an incident or on the 5 Center floor of the intensive care unit, however, the realities of working as a fireman or in a hospital are not nearly as glamorous. Running into burning building and extracting people from impossible car accidents are not every day occurrences. In fact, seeing a building fully engulfed in flame is a rare sight that will leave you in awe nearly every time. On the first day at the fire academy I got a reality check about firefighting. At the beginning of each class we take a moment of silence for fallen firefighters. Nowhere in the job description does it say that you have to die in the line of duty,

During the month of October, 2008 we lost another fire fighter in a residential structure fire. The Victim was a 24 Y/O male fire fighter from Alabama who had been a volunteer with the department for two years. The firefighter training seemed to be standard for a new volunteer in the area which he served. As always it is tragic to lose a fire fighter and as always we try to learn from it.

I would disagree with the statement that "A prudent fire chief steers clear of politics.” All fire departments run on some kind of funding. Without the proper funding then the department either cannot adequately staff apparatus or are forced to cut back in response abilities or additional programs and personnel. Money for funding often comes from the political area and government programs. This is just one of the crucial reasons that "A prudent fire chief" would actually in fact be well involved in politics, creating relationships with individuals that could grow to be influential in decision making. In addition, to overseeing all operational aspects of the department, a chief is a representative of the department

Fire district 13 is located in the forested valleys and steep foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range at the base of Mount St. Helens. Access to our district, primarily reached by one main county road, is limited. With automatic mutual aid to neighboring districts with, major rail, and freeway- interoperability is key. Located above the Cascadia Subduction zone, Clark County is due for a catastrophic earthquake. The area that includes fire district 13 is a transitional zone between unoccupied forest land and human development. Being a part of the wildland urban interface zone puts us at a higher risk for wildfires.

After receiving a grant from the Office of Juvenile Affairs, Camp Fire brought two new members to the team to foster the relationship with the Hispanic families as well as to increase their involvement in the different programs.

What occurred at Yarnell Hill was a travesty; many brave firefighters lost their lives that day. We must recognize our mistakes and learn from them; that is how we move forward. I am not here to inform you, the executives, on better ways to prevent fires. I am here to educate you on risk management strategies that you can implement into the USFS.

It seems the topic you are interested in is “the cancer risks among first responders.” If so, your current literature review is good enough. Your next step is to design the research and collect data to compare whether there are different probabilities of cancer risks among different groups of first responders (e.g., polices, firefighters, and EMSs).

I truly enjoyed reading the material for this week 's discussion. I found it fascinating to read how these people of passion were so revered as leaders. Something I found difficult while reading the stories of these various leaders was the details of what they did within their respective industries that made them successful. Although I recognize the importance of the details, I found myself continually fanaticizing about how the many different approaches would directly translate to the fire service. Because of the uniqueness of the fire service as an industry, I found it easier to relate to themes and concepts rather than the details. 'Strengths Based Leadership ' by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie For example Simon Cooper stated: "people create memories, not things. If we ask guests what color the carpet was in their guest room, they probably won 't know. The real value comes from the ladies and gentlemen (employees) who bring that hotel to life. Ten percent is the platform, but the rest is people. (Rath & Conchie, 2008, p. 43) As I read this I couldn 't help but think of the fact that our customers in the emergency response world (fire service) likely remember more about how we treat them than what uniform we wear or what kind of apparatus we arrive in, so long as we bring true caring and compassion to their bedside. In addition Cooper 's people over platform approach was obvious in this Rath & Conchie description: "then when he talked of the night-and-day difference that a

The greatest threat facing the Modern Fire Service is the rate at which firefighters are dying in the line of duty. Excluding the terrible event of 9/11 that occurred in 2001 that forever changed the dynamics of the emergency response services1, firefighter deaths have averaged around 100 fatalities each year for the since 1990. This unacceptable rate of firefighter deaths has found its way to be a benchmark in the industry. The problem is that the benchmark should be zero firefighter deaths while on duty and every year that there is a fatality is a year that the fire service has failed its members. The number one cause of firefighter related deaths yearly is proven to be medical, stress, or overexertion related fatalities2. All of these causes of firefighter deaths can be avoided with implementation of training and awareness.